Teens Review Tech

iPhone 8 vs iPhone X

Recently, Apple has released the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X (more well known as the iPhone X). But with their different design, specs and even price, which one should you buy?

Let’s start with the display. As you can see from the specs below, the iPhone X has a much nicer screen with a bigger screen-to-body ratio and an OLED screen, the first iPhone to have that. The OLED screen allows the phone to show blacker blacks than the iPhone 8. The iPhone X may be taller, but it is barely any wider or thicker than the iPhone 8! And it is only 17% heavier.

However, the iPhone X is not perfect. To get a beautiful screen-to-edge display, Apple had to remove the home button and add the top bar. By adding the top bar, Apple has integrated Face Id but viewing images and videos will look a bit odd and it has lost the Touch ID fingerprint sensor altogether to free up the front of the phone for that massive display. For some, this may be a problem.

Furthermore, both the iPhone X and iPhone 8 share several design similarities. They both have glass backs which allow wireless charging to be added for the first time, an improved water and dust resistance (allowing full submersion in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes) and Aluminium in their chassis.

Now, the iPhone X may win the external battle but internally, both phones have the same performance:

The A11 chip is the fastest chip made for a smartphone making the iPhone X and 8 the fastest smartphone in the phone industry and will help both the phones with augmented reality and video games. The A11 delivers 25% faster CPU and 30% faster GPU (graphics) performance than the A10 chipset in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The A11 is also 70% faster at multitasking features users use to jump between apps.

The chip also helps with FaceId on the iPhone X and it maps a user’s face in 3D dot projector built into the front display’s notch and the A11 controls a Neural engine which handles up to 600 billion operations per second so it can “learn” your face. Let’s hope that it works better than the Samsung!

Another crucial topic would be the camera. Apple didn’t actually end up comparing the two cameras from the iPhone 8 to the iPhone X but we will mention a major difference. Even though they both have a 12 megapixel camera, the second 12MP telephoto camera (used for 2x optical zoom) on the iPhone X is faster than the telephoto on the iPhone 8 Plus (f/2.4 vs f/2.8) and it includes optical image stabilisation while the iPhone 8 Plus’ telephoto does not. This makes a much more stable image and easier to take quick, sharp photos on the iPhone X.

The iPhone X has also integrated a much better rear camera mainly for the FaceId but it also allows portrait selfies and ‘animojis’ (emojis which mimic your expressions before you send them to friends). However, don’t fall for the iPhone X directly since both the phones have low light auto focus and noise reduction.

Although the iPhone 8 has been struggling to keep up with the X, battery life is where it really succeeds. the iPhone X can match the talk time and audio playback of the iPhone 8 Plus, but the 8 offers an hour of extra web browsing and video playback. I’d also expect longer standby times, though Apple declines to list those.

Apple has integrated wireless charging and it is Qi-compatible (the most popular wireless charging standard), but it only works at 5W when Qi has 7.5W and 15W fast wireless charging. Fast wired charging is not available out the box and both Apple’s optional fast charger and fast charging cable are expensive, making the iPhone X even more expensive.

So finally, the price. The good news: Apple has doubled the entry level story of both the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus from 2016’s 32GB to 64GB. The bad news: there is no midrange 128GB option and both models are more expensive than any previous iPhone.

iPhone X – 64GB ($999), 256GB ($1,149)

iPhone 8 Plus – 64GB ($799), 256GB ($949)

Overall, it really depends on what extra features you would like on your smartphone and how much money you are willing to pay (keeping in mind that you will still need to pay for the AirPower pad, maybe a case and some other accessories). If you desperately need a new iPhone and don’t care too much about the display and camera, then the iPhone 8 or 8 plus would be a great option. But if you are willing to wait two extra weeks and want to spend a bit more money then I would highly recommend the iPhone X. For me personally, I really like the design of the iPhone X along with the camera and some fast charging capabilities and so I would definitely choose the X.

More and more wireless chargers are coming as we speak (with Apples coming later this year), but which are the best? Well, Apple has two in their stores, the Mophie and the Belkin, and they both come with the same charging power. But they are also Apple verified meaning they will both work for fast charging when the software update comes. However, if you want a cheaper option then I would suggest the IKEA wireless chargers which come in different sizes – but it is unclear whether they will support Apples Fast Charge.